Machine for arranging letters and the like into rows



March 26, 1968 M. FRANCOIS 4 MACHINE FOR ARRANGING LETTERS AND THE LIKE INTO ROWS Filed March 23, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 26, 1968 M. FRANCOIS MACHINE FOR ARRANGING LETTERS AND THE LIKE INTO ROWS Filed March 23, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 26, 1968 M. FRANCOIS 3,374,904

MACHINE FOR ARRANGING LETTERS AND THE LIKE INTO ROWS Filed March 23, 1965 Y 5 Sheets-$heet 5 59.9 v as 6 108 108 P 89 90 l L 92 Y A 109 '1 E I 106 lh, I '1' United States Patent 12 Claims. (or. zit-J) ABSTRACT on THE DISCLOSURE A machine for arranging letters in stacks comprising in combination: means for feeding a heap of letters, arranged haphazardly, to the lower end of a substantially cylindrical inner face of a drum having suckers for seizing the letters from the underside of said heap and releasing the seized letters at the top of the drum into letter receiving and aligning means which feed 'the aligned letters to a stacking magazine.

The present invention relates to machines and devices whose purpose is to pick up correspondence,' suchas letters in envelopes or postcards or the like having similar shape and behaviour, from a heap of these letters, postcards or the like deposited in a-heap, and to put them in a row one behind the other in a receiving "magazine so as to be able subsequently to introduce them into inachines such as, for example, straightening, sci-ting indexing or stamping machines In the ensuing description, forthe purpose of simplification, mention will be made only o'f lettersfthis term being intended to embrace not only correspondence in envelopes, but also postcards and "the like without envelopes. t t.

Devices are known which put-letters into rows or sort them out but the presence of man is always necessary" to obviate irregularities in the output which are unavoidable. i i A it Indeed, the principle of the operation depends on:

Either the adherence of the letters to a rising conveyor belt whose slope must be gre'ater'th'an the largest slope angle of a heap of lettersfbut' less than the limit angle 3,374,904 Patented Mar. 26, 19558 for all the letters of the formed pile, two of their orthogonal edges are perfect y located 'in two' perpendici lar planes and can .fthiifs serve as arefer'ence wherebytlie smallest sizes do not escape from the action'ofthe separating'deyice adapted to takethem'up subsequently; i

This machine compr ses" a hollow "segregating drum having ahoriz onta'l axis'and provided with siiekers'on permitting a single letter to'res t on the belt" without I slipping.

Or on the difference in the adherence between the letters or between the letters and theiri support, whether the latter be a vibrating auger, hopper or conduit;

Now, the coefficient of friction between one letter and another object is variable dependingbn the degree moisture or the dust content of the atmosphere-Further, in a heap of letters manner are very highlyl-imbficated and-have a tendency','owing to their upturned ori'eared poitions and their flap s which'are' sundown in avsnable manner, to drive each other along whenjthey'areto be handled,

The object of the invention is to provide an improved machine which is devoid of 'theaforernentioned drawbacks and picks up small amounts of-let'tersffrom a haph-azard heap thereof and feeds themin a regular manner in amounts small enough .to. permit the handlingthereof for the purpose of straightening, v sorting, indexing,

stamping and more particularly stacking them so that .t'hejinne r face of 'its cylindfric'ahwall, a device for'driving said'drurn in rotation about said axis, a Iy'vhich puts'leach of said suckers under suctionpwhile it travelsthroiigh'the rising portion of itscircnlarpath,

and a letter receivingand aligning device extending arltially'in the driuiin nnd partially outside the for receiving the letters which have been taken up and raised by the suckers frorna heap of letters deposited in a haphazard manner in .said' drum,

Preferably"the'machinecomprises in combination a loading table having a conveyor belt undergoing an intermittent m'ovementfsaid segregating drum with its dis .tribn'tor anditsdevicedriving it in rotation, an aligning web undergoing a rapid and continuous movement and forming ,said receiving device, a ,receiving magazine receiving in stacks thelctters conveyed thereto by said aligning device. v

, The letters are heaped in a haphazard manner on the loading table which 'feeds the drum where the suckers pick them up and deposit them on the aligning web which conveys them ,to the receiving magazine."

- Further features and advantages of ,the invention ,will be apparent front-the ensuing description reference to the accompanying drawings to which the invention is .no .way limited.

In the drawings: ,w

FIG. 1 is aplan view of the assembly of a machine according to the invention for arranging ietters into rows;

FIG. 2 is .a front elevational view taken along line 2 2 of FIG. 1, of the segregating drum; 1 FIG. 3 is a diametral sectional view taken along line 3 -3 of FIG. 2, on an enlarged scale, of the die- .f rib w .wmb d wi h Said s re a n u FIG. 4 is a sectional view of one of the suckers, taken along line 4 {4of FIG. 1 but on an enlargedscale;

-F -IG. 5 is a front elevational view taken along line 5 5 of' FI G. 3 on a reduced scale of the fixed plate of the distributor; V

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of oneof the slide valves of thedistributor; I

FIG. -7 is a partial cross-sectional view of the dr m,

FIG. 8 ;is ,anelevational view of the receiving ,magazine, in the direction oftthe arrow F shownin FIG. 1,

and

FIG. 9 is .a corresponding plan view of the magazine.

(1) DESCRIPTION "OF THE .MACHINE v In the illustrated embodiment, ,the machine for arrangingthe letters comprisesin combination (FIG. 1

(a) A loading table A having a conveyor belt undergoing an intermittent motion.

(b) A Segre-gating drum B which undergoes a ,slow, uniform and continuous rotation about its horizontal axis XX under the effect of a drive device vC and is combined with .a distributor -D.

(c) An aligning belt E under-going a rapid and continuous motion under the effect of a drive device F;

(d) A receiving magazine G.

(e) A cam-shaft control mechanism H.

The letters are deposited in a haphazard manner on the table A which feeds the letters to the drum B when required. In the drum the letters are picked up in shall packets or batches by suckers carried by the cylindrical wall of the drum and deposited vertically on the belt E where they are regrouped into contingents or groups wherein they are aligned in accordance with their refer ence edges, namely the lower edge and the forward edge.

At the exit end of the belt E the groups of letters enter the stacking magazine G where they are deposited one behind the other and thus form the desired stack P. All the letters of the stack have their lower edge located in an oblique plane, namely the plane YY on which they rest, and their forward edge located in a vertical plane Z-Z embodied by an element of the magazine against which they abut at the end of their travel.

The loading table A (FIG. 1) comprises a stand 1 supported by four feet 2, This stand acts as a support for an endless conveyor belt 3 which extends arounda driving drum 4 and around a tension drum 5. The driving drum 4 is driven by a motor-speed reducer unit 6 through pulleys 7 and 8 and a belt 9.

The conveyor belt 3 moves in the direction of the arrow f at appropriate speed each time the motor 6 is supplied with current. Thus it is possible to drop the letters into the drum B through a spout 10 in the extension of the belt 3. Longitudinal ledges 11 are provided to prevent the correspondence on the belt 3 from slipping laterally off the latter.

The table A has suflicient length to receive a large number of letters.

The segregating drum B (FIGS. 1 to 7) which receives the letters from the spout 10 is carried by a stand 12.

This drum comprises a rear unapertured side wall or cheek 13 and a forward open annular side wall or cheek 14, affording a large opening 15 for the entry of the letters, and a cylindrical wall 16. The assembly is composed of sheet metal. Each side wall rests by the effect of gravity on two rollers 17 carried by the stand 12 (FIG. 2) which allows the drum to rotate about its axis XX without necessity of journals.

The drum is driven in rotation in the direction 0 arrow f (FIGS. 1 and 2) by the device The latter comprises a motor-speed reducer unit 18 (FIG. 2) which drives a driving roller 22 through pulleys 19, and a belt 21. An endless flat driving belt 23 extends around the roller 22 and around the cylindrical wall 16 of the drum and is held under tension by rollers 24 The cylindrical wall 16 is not flush with the periphery of the side walls 13, 14 so that only the latter roll on the rollers and suction pipes disposed around said wall are allowed a free passage.

The wall 16 is provided with apertures such as 25 (FIGS. 1 and 4) arranged for example in staggered relation on a number of circumferences in planes parallel to the side walls. Each of these apertures 25 communicates with an element 26 attached externally to the wall 16. This element carries a nozzle 27 receiving a rubber p'neumatic sucker 28 whose lip is substantially tangent to the inner face of the cylindrical wall 16, this lip being slightly set back from the latter. Each sucker 28 constitutes letterseizing means, as will be explained hereinafter. The element 27 contains a filtering screen 29 which is clamped by a member 30 to which leads a suction pipe 31 mentioned hereinbefore.

The various suction pipes lead to the distributor D (FIGS. 1, 2 and 4-6). This distributor comprises two elements 32, 33 interconnected by a bolt 34 and secured by screws 35 to the rear side wall 13 of the drum B, so that they rotate therewith. These elements are concentric with the axis X-X of rola lQ l Q 2 d 4 and are provided with as many apertures 36 as there are suckers 28;

These apertures are parallel and spaced the same distance from the axis XX and their angular spacing is the same as that of the suckers on the cylindrical metal sheet 16. Each aperture is traversed by a boring 37 to which one of the pipes 31 leads. Each boring 37 is itself in communication with two apertures 38 and 39 communicating with the machined face 40 of the element 33. Two borings 41 and 42 connect the bottom of each aperture 36 to each corresponding aperture 38, A plug 43 affords a seal.

Slidable in each aperture 36 is a piston 44 (FIGS. 3, 6) comprising a recess 45 and a centering skirt 46. This piston is biased by a spring 47 against a rubber ring 48 held between the two elements 32 and 33,

Held with pressure against the machined face 40 of the element 33 through a spring 49', washers 50, 51 and nuts 52 is an element 53 centered on the journal 54 which is an extension of the bolt 34. This element 53 is prevented from rotating by a lug 55 engaged in a fixed fork 56 rigid with the stand 12. Further, said element 53 comprises in the forward machined face thereof 57, two circular concentric slots 58 and 59 with which communicate respectively end members 60 and 61, each of which is connected by a pipe to a tank (not shown) in which a vacuum is maintained by a suction pump driven by an electric motor (not shown).

The outer slot 58 (FIG. 5) is short and has a radius r equal to the distance between the axis of the apertures 38 and the axis XX. The second slot 59 is longer and the radius r thereof corresponds to the distance between the axis XX and the aperture 39. Provided on the same circumference as said second slot 59 in the element 53 and located adjacent the slot is an opening 62 (FIG. 5) which communicates with the Open air.

In the element 53, the slots 58, 59 and the opening 62 are so dimensioned and positioned that during the rotation of the drum B which drives the elements 32, 33 the apertures 38 and 39 come respectively in front of the starts a and c of the slots 58 and 59 when the sucker 28 connected to the corresponding aperture 36 is at the lower part of the drum. After a slight rotation of the drum, the aperture 38 leaves the slot 58 at b and is obturated by the bearing face 57 of the element 53. On the other hand, the communication between the aperture 39 and the slot 58 continues up to the point d of the slot which is reached when the corresponding sucker 28 has just passed the extreme point of its rotation with the drum; but as soon as it has left this slot 59 the aperture 39 passes in front of the opening 62 communicating with the surrounding air.

It will be immediately understood how the distributor itself operates. When a sucker is under the heap of letters L in the lower part of the drum B, it is connected to the suction tank by the element 27 (FIG, 4), the pipe 31, the apertures 37, 38, the short slot 58 and the end member 60. Two things can then occur:

(1) A letter is just in front of the sucker; it adheres to the latter owing to the suction; a suction about equal to that prevailing in the suction tank is created in all the conduits and particularly in the apertures 58, 41 and 42. The slide piston 44 is biased and compresses the spring 47 which has a rating for this purpose. This piston passes from the position shown on the left of FIG. 3 to the position shown on the right of this FIG. 3 and the opposite side of the groove 45 bears against the rubber ring 48. This groove 45 is thus in front of the aperture 37 and puts the pipe in communication through the aperture 37, the groove 45, the aperture 39, the slot 59 and the end member 61. Under these circumstances, when the aperture 38 leaves the short slot 58 at b, the suction toward the corresponding sucker 28 is maintained by this new circuit, the longer slot 59 remaining in relation with the aperture 39 and the suction maintaining the piston 44 in its new position through the circuit 37, 38, 41'and 42. When the aperture 39 in turn leaves the slot 59 at (1! (FIG. 5) and almost immediately encounters the opening 62, all the pipes are put in communication with the surrounding air, the letter comes away from the sucker and the piston slide 44 returns to its point of departure (position on left side of FIG. 3) under the effect of the spring 47. (2) If no letter is in front of the sucker, only a slight suction is created in the circuit 60, 58, 38, 37, 41, 42 owing to the pressure drops; it is insuflicient to cause the piston slide 44 to compress the spring 47 and the piston remains stationary. Under these circumstances, when the aperture 38 leaves the slot 58 at b, there is no suction ofthe end member 61 toward the sucker since the body of the piston 44 obturates the aperture 37.

Consequently, each sucker is put under suction when it passes under the heap L of letters in the lower part of the drum B, and this suction is maintained until the sucker starts to move downwardly, but, however, on condition it carries a letter therealong; in the opposite case, namely when no letter is held by the sucker, the communication between the sucker and the source of suction is interrupted at b and this avoids a loss of suction during the whole of the travel of the aperture 39 through the slot 59, namely during the major part of the upward travel of the sucker.

For collecting the letters such as L (FIG. 2) which come away, after having passed through the upper point 'of the drum, there is provided in this drum a kind of hopper or chute means embodied by conveyor belts 63 and 64 which convey the letters to L where they are presented vertically between the belt 64 and a fixed sheet 65 on the upper reach of the aligning and discharging belt E. The belts 63 and 64 extend respectively around rollers 65, 66, 67 on one hand and rollers 68,69 on the other. Each roller rotates in bearings fixed near the bottom of the drum in a sheet 70 (FIG. 7) and, near the opening of the drum, in elements 71, 72, 73 forming part of the stand 12. The belt 63 is driven by the roller 67 which is driven through a pulley 74, a V-belt 75 and a pulley 76 rigid with the roller 69. The belt 64 is driven by this roller 69. The latter is driven through a pulley 77, a belt 78, a return pulley 79, a belt 80 and the pulley 81 keyed on the shaft of an electric motor 82. (See FIG. 1 at the bottom right hand corner.)

The aligning and discharging belt E (FIG. 1 in bottom left corner) is driven by a roller 83 driven through pulleys 84 and 85 and a V-belt 86 by the electric motor 87; it is maintained under tension by a roller 88 (FIG. 7).

The belt E whose purpose is to bring the letters out of the drum B and convey them to the magazine, is surmounted in the part thereof outside the drum by two metal sheets 89 and 90 which constitute ledges and guide the correspondence. If the flow of the letter is voluntarily limited and continuous it is nonetheless irregular and the direction of overlap of the letters is definite. Consequently, their stacking in the magazine G is not possible directly and the belt has a third function. It has a relatively great length and the passage formed by the ledges 89, 90 is arranged to be closed by flaps 91, 91a, 91b and 910. These flaps are so controlled as to operate in a rhythmic manner so that each of them closes the passage for a period of time roughly equal to the time during which it leaves the passage free. Further, each of these flaps closes a certain time after the opening of the preceding one.

Each flap is constituted by a metal sheet folded at right angles and pivotable about a vertical pivot pin 92 rigid with the stand. It has a crank to which is pivoted the plunger core of an electromagnet 93, 93a 930. A compression spring such as 94 bears against the electromagnet and constrains the flap to obt urate the path of the letters. The excitation of the electromagnet causes the core to move inwardly, compresses the spring, pivots the flap about the pivot pin and opens the path of the letters. It will be subsequently explained how the four electromagnets are excited. The receiving and stacking magazine will now be described.

This magazine comprises (FIGS. 1, 8 and 9) aframework 95 disposed obliquely on a stand 86. The framework carries two parallel shafts 97 and 98 to which are keyed four chain sprocket wheels 99 for the shaft 97 and five chain sprocket wheels 100 for the shaft 98. Extending around these sprocket wheels are four carrying chains 101 and a driving chain 102 which moreover engages with a sprocket wheel 103 driven, through a speed reducer 104, by a motor 105 (FIG. 8). The stacking magazine further comprises a rod 106 on which is slida'ble and rotatable a sleeve 107 carrying a metal sheet 108 adapted to act as bearing means against the letters of the stack P in process of being formed. This sheet 108 carries at least one tooth 108a capable of hooking into or engaging the links of one of the chains 101 so that it can move with the chains; but the fact that it is pivotable about the rod 95 permits an operator to disengage the tooth from the chain and, in sliding the assembly along the rod 95, to put back the sheet 108 at a level diiferent from that to which it could be once more driven by the chain. The means associated with the stacking magazine are a packer and a retaining device generally designated by the reference numerals 109 and 110 respectively.

The packer 109 comprises a lever 111 pivotable about a horizontal pin 112 (FIG. 8) carried by the support 96. This lever carries an element 113 on which are secured bearing bars 114. The pivotal movements of the lever 111 are controlled by an electro magnet 115 fixed to the support 96 and whose plunger core terminates in a fork pivoted at 116 to the lever. At rest (position shown in dotdash line in FIG. 8), the packer bears against a fixed abutment 117 under the effect of a spring 118 connected to the support and opens an electric switch 119. The rods 114 extend over the passage of the conveyor E, the ledge 90 being lower in this region and the ledge 89 stopping at 89a (FIG. 9). When the electromagnet 115 is excited the lever pivots, the switch 119 closes, the hearing bars 114 are disengaged from the passage ('89, 90) and this allows a free passage for the contingent of letters which will arrive. a

The retaining device 110 comprises a lever 120 pivotable on a pivot pin 121 carried by the stand. This lever carries two pins 122 and it is controlled by an electro magnet 123 which is fixed to the stand and whose plunger core is pivoted at 124 to this lever. At rest, under the effect of a spring 125, the pins 122 are engaged between the bearing bars 144 of the packer 109, also at rest in the position 1090 shown in dot-dash line in FIG. 8; they are slightly set back relative to the latter. When the electro magnet 123 is excited the lever 120 pivots and the pins 122 free the zone of the space in which the pile or stack of letters is formed.

The electro magnets 115 and 123 of the packing device 109 and the retaining device 110 must be fed in such manner that these devices operate at the same frequency as the flaps. The movement of the letters is known and rhythmic. The electro magnets 115 and 123 can therefore be controlled in the same manner as the electro magnets 93, 93a 930 of the flaps 91 91c.

There will now be described how the motor-speed reducer 6 of the table A is supplied with current, when it is necessary to pour the letters into the drum; how the various electro magnets are excited; and how the motor 105 of the magazine G is supplied with current when it is necessary to lower the stack P being formed in this magazine so that the last letters he at their correct level.

The motor-speed reduce-r unit 7 is supplied with current by a responsive time-delay relay connected in series with a photo resistant cell 126 in a DC line. The cell 126 (FIG; 1) is carried by the stand 12 of the drum in front of this drum and can be illuminated by a projector 127 placed on the stand behind the drum when two transparent portholes or openings 128 (FIG. 2) provided in facing relation in the two side walls 13 and 14 of the drum pass in front of the cell and the projector, on condition' that the level of the letters is low in the drum and does not interrupt the light beam. In this case, the cell 126 is but slightly resistant and the intensity of the current passing through the time-delay relay associated therewith is sufficient to release the latter; and, although the time of illumination of the cell is short and owing to the time delay of the relay, the endless belt 3 moves forward and tips a certain amount of letters into the drum B. On

the other hand, if the level of the letters into the drum is rather high, the cell 126 is not illuminated when the portholes 128 pass therebetween and the projector; it remains very resistant and the time-delay relay remains at rest.

The various electro magnets are simply supplied with current by contacts controlled by cams such as 129 (FIG. 1) rigid with the cam-shaft 130 driven by the motor 131 through a speed-reducer 132. The duration of the closure of a contact and the moment thereof depend on the shape of each cam and the setting of the latter. An arrangement is possible which actuates rhythmically the various elements as described in accordance with a cycle, one revolution of the cam-shaft 130 corresponding to this cycle.

The motor 105 of the magazine G is supplied with current by the closure of a relay connected in series with the switch 119 of the packing device 109 and a contact of the cam-shaft closed when the bars 114 of the packing device are in the bearing position on the stack, so that at this moment with the switch 119 closed, the relay is released and the motor 131 operates and lowers the stack P until the switch 119 opens. This opening is adjusted for a position of the packing device corresponding to a good level of the upper part of the stack P of letters.

(II) OPERATION OF THE COMPLETE MACHINE -The correspondence is poured in a haphazard manner onto the table A. The conveyor belt 3, each time it is driven by the motor-speed reducer unit 6, that is, each time that the letters contained in the drum do not occlude the cell 126, causes some of the correspondence to fall through the spout 10 into the rotary drum B.

Owing to the effect of gravity these letters slide along the cylindrical metal sheet 16 and remain at L in the lower part of the drum; as each sucker 28 which rotates with the sheet 16 is connected to the suction when it passes under the heap of letters at the lower part of the drum, it is clear that in front of each sucker 28 one or a few letters are seized in that they become adhered to the wall 16 and are carried along by the latter. The expression one or a few is employed since at the moment the corresponding sucker is connected to the suction it could occur that the surface of the sucker cover one or several letters which overlap in this region at that moment. It is extremely rare that no letter be taken up in this way; it is also rare that more than three letters be sucked up.

As the drum rotates in the direction of the arrow f the letters thus carried along slide under the others, not without dragging along some of them, but this is of no importance since in arriving a little before the upper part of the drum, the letters taken up by the suckers, such as L are held in place whereas the others are free and fall, as'at L under the effect of gravity onto the heap L When the suction is cut off in each sucker a little after it has passed through the uppermost point of the drum, the letters which had been carried along, such as L are abandoned and fall away.

The letters, such as L (FIG. 2), which become detached from the suckers 25 little after having passed through the top of their path are separated or grcuped into twos or threes, rarely more. They fall onto the belt 63 whose direction of rotation is indicated by the arrow i A short instant later they are on edge on the belt E and held between the belt 64 and the ledge 65, such as the letter L As the belt E is driven with a continuous motion in the direction of arrow i (FIGS. 1 and 8) the letters rapidly assume this motion and are consequently discharged from the drum. However, in order to reach this point some of them sometimes slide and fall directly onto the belt E without use of the belt 63, Other times they become wedged between the belts 63 and 64 above the belt E, but the direction of motion of the belt 64 is such that the unwedging of the letters always occurs. This is moreover the reason why a belt 64 is provided instead of a fixed sheet.

The belt E thus discharges the letters from the drum B and conveys them to the magazine. But owing to the flaps 91 910 each of which closes a certain time after the opening of the preceding one, the letters blocked by one of them abut when the latter releases them, against the following flap which has just closed. When said following flap opens, another shock occurs and the same thing occurs in respect of each flap until the flap 910 is reached which acts as the entrance to the magazine G. These successive shocks have for effect to regroup the letters into contingents in which they are aligned along the edge on-which they stand and on their leading edge with respect to their direction of movement. Subsequently, the letters have merely to be stacked in the magazine G as they arrive in a continuous stream of contingents or groups of letters which are, in fact, already portions of the stack P it is desired to obtain.

As concerns the stacking, at the moment the flap 91c (FIGS. 1 and 9) is on the point of opening the packing device 109 and the retaining device are at rest and a stack of letters P is assumed to be in course of formation. The following successive actions then occur: the electromagnet is excited, the packing device 109 moves clear of the passage (89, 90), the flap 91c opens, the stack of letters P is retained by the pins 122, the new contingent of letters conveyed by the belt E arrives and abuts the end of the bar 106 at L (FIG. 9) a little after. Simultaneously, the electromagnet 115 ceases to be excited; on the other hand, the electromagnet 123 is and this causes the pins 122 to withdraw while the bars 114 of the packing device 109 urge, under the action of the spring 118, the contingent of letters L against the stack P of letters in course of formation. But the lever 111 cannot reach its abutment 117 since the new contingent of letters L thickens the stack and the switch 119 remains closed. This closure of the switch starts up the motor 103 which drives the chain 101 on which the stack P rests in the direction of arrow f It will be recalled that the sheet 108, owing to the engagement of its tooth 108a, follows the movement of the chains. The stack descends until the lever 111 reaches the abutment 117 and opens the switch 119 and thus stops the motor 103. The top of the stack reaches its previous level and thenceforth the electromagnet ceases to beexcited. The pins 122 resume contact with the letters and a fresh stacking cycle commences.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described, many modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Machine for arranging letters and the like in stacks, said machine comprising in combination a hollow segregating drum having a wall having a substantially cylindrical inner face, and a substantially horizontal axis; a device for driving said drum in rotation about said axis; means for receiving a heap of haphazardly arranged letters and depositing said heap onto the lower part of said inner face of the drum, the axial extent of said inner face being large enough to receive said heap; letter seizing means for seizing letters from under said heap of haphazardly arranged letters deposited on said inner face and maintaining the seized letters against said inner face until the seized letters reach substantially the top of said inner face where they are released, said letter seizing means consisting of suckers mounted on said drum and communicating with the interior of said drum through said inner face, a source of suction, a distributor for putting in communication with the source of suction each of said suckers while the sucker travels through the rising portion of its circular path with rotation of said drum and eliminating said suction when the sucker reaches substantially the top of said inner face; and a letter receiving and aligning device extending partially in the drum and partially outside the drum for receiving the letters which have been seized and subsequently released by the suckers, said letter receiving device having an upper letter input end which is located substantially vertically below the top of-said inner face so as to leave free and unobstructed the major part of the half of the interior of said drum adjacent said ris'ng portion of said circular path of said suckers, whereby any letters which may have become accidentally attache-d to said seized letters can drop back before reaching the top of said inner face onto said heap of letters deposited on said lower part of said inner face.

2. Machine for arranging letters and the like in stacks, said machine comprising in combination: a hollow segregating drum having a wall having a substantially cylindrical inner face and a substantially horizontal axis; a device for driving said drum in rotation about said axis, intermittently-driven conveyor means for receiving a heap of haphazardly arranged letters and depositing said heap onto the lower part of said inner face of the drum, the axial extent of said inner face being large enough to receive said heap; letter seizing means for seizing letters from under said heap of haphazardly arranged letters deposited on said inner face and maintaining the seized letters against said inner face until the seized letters reach substantially the top of said inner face where they are released, said letter seizing means consisting of suckers mounted on said drum and communicating with the interior of said drum through said inner face, a source of suction, a distributor for putting in communication with said source of suction each of said suckers while the sucker travels through the rising portion of its circular path and eliminating said suction when the sucker reaches substantially the top of said inner face; and a letter receiving and aligning device extending partially in the drum and partially outside the drum for receiving the letters which have been seize-d and subsequently released by the suckers, said letter receiving and aligning device comprising chute means extending across the interior of said drum in a plane substantially parallel to said axis, said chute means having an upper end which is located substantially vertically below the top of said inner face so as to leave free and unobstructed the major part of the half of the interior of said drum adjacent said rising portion of said circular path of said suckers, whereby any letters which may have become accidentally attached to said seized letters can drop back before reaching the top of said inner face onto said heap of letters deposited on said lower part of said inner face, said letter receiving and aligning device further comprising a belt having a rapid and continuous motion located below said chute means for receiving the letters and moving in a vertical plane substantially parallel to said axis, two guide walls being provided for guiding the letters on said belt in a substantially upright position; and a receiving magazine receiving stacks of letters conveyed thereto by said belt of said letter receiving and aligning device.

3. Machine as claimed in claim 2, comprising an electric motor for driving said conveyor means, a photoelectric cell controlling the power supply to said motor, means directing a beam of light onto the cell, the drum having apertures to allow the passage therethrough of the beam at a given level in the drum, the arrangement of the cell and light beam directing means being such that the beam is intercepted and the power supply to the motor is cutoff by the cell when the heap of letters deposited on the lower part of said inner face of the drum reaches said level.

4. Machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drum rests on rollers and said device driving the drum comprises an endless belt extending around the drum.

5. Machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the suckers of the drum are located in recesses formed byelements attached -to the cylindrical wall of the drum in the region of apertures formed in said wall.

6. Machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distributor has a first part which is stationary and a second part which participates in the rotation of the drum.

7. Machine for arranging letters and the like in stacks, said machine comprising a hollow segregating drum hav ing a horizontal axis and provided with suckers on the inner face of its cylindrical wall, a device for driving said drum in rotation about said axis, a distributor which puts each of said suckers under suction, while it travels through the rising portion of its circular path, and a letter receiving and aligning device extending partially in the drum and partially outside the drum for receiving the letters which have been taken up and raised by the suckers from a heap of letters deposited in a haphazard manner in said drum, said machine further comprising a source of suction connected to the suckers through the distributor which distributor has a first part which is stationary and a second part which participates in the rotation of the drum, said distributor comprising for each sucker a first and a second connection circuit connecting the sucker to the source of suction, the first circuit being so arranged as to provide a short duration of suction which selectively brings into action and does not bring into action the second circuit provided for the normal duration of suction necessary for operation of the sucker in describing the rising part of its circular path, depending on whether the sucker is obturated or not by a letter applied and maintained thereagainst by the suction.

8. Machine as claimed in claim 1, comprising a stand on which he drum is rotatively mounted, said letter receiving and aligning device comprising two endless belts located within the drum and carried by the stand and constituting chute means for guiding the letters which are released by the suckers to conveyor means for conveying the letters out of the drum.

9. Machine for arranging letters and the like in stacks, said machine comprising a hollow segregating drum having a horizontal axis and provided with suckers on the inner face of its cylindrical wall, a device for driving said drum in rotation about said axis, a distributor which puts each of said suckers under suction, while it travels through the rising portion of its circular path, and a letter receiving and aligning device extending partially in the drum and partially outside the drum for receiving the letters which have been taken up and raised by the suckers from a heap of letters deposited in a haphazard manner in said drum, said letter receiving and aligning device comprising a belt, a passageway through which the belt moves, a series of withdrawable flaps extending across the passageway and dividing the latter into successive sections,

and means for withdrawing the flaps one after the other in the direction of movement of the belt whereby the letters are grouped into contingents.

10. Machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a stacking magazine positioned to receive letters from said receiving and aligning device, said stacking magazine comprising a letter support movable in an inclined plane between an upper and a lower extreme position.

11. Machine as claimed in claim 10, wherein said support is detachably connected to at least one endless driving chain.

12. Machine as claimed in claim 10, wherein said support is combined in its movements with a packing device adapted to pack or compress the letters received from said receiving and aligning device onto the stack, and a device for retaining the letters already stacked.

(References on following page) References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS I STATES PATENTS 679,400 2/1964 Canada.

644,007 4/1937 Germany. 1/1920 Harriss 271-74 197,201 7/1965 Sweden. 8/ 1962 Holloway 198210 5 GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner. 5/ 1965 Schmldt J. E. OLDS, GEORGE F. ABRAHAM, 11/1965 Gautraud et a1 198211 Assistant Examiners. 

